Epilepsy

Epileptic seizures that go on for 30 minutes or more put children in mortal danger. Researchers report on promising treatments, and ones that appear ineffective.

MRI scans of patients with intractable epilepsy showed their brains age prematurely, a study found. These patients' brains looked almost 9 years older than they really were.

Cannabidiol-a marijuana plant extract that does not have psychoactive effects-is showing promise in treatment-resistant forms of epileps

Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) is poorly understood. In research presented at the American Epilepsy Society 69th Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, there is new evidence that mutations in genes that control heart rhythm may explain some cases.

Could personal monitoring devices give patients with epilepsy advance warning of seizures? An array of such gizmos is already available and more are coming.

Sleep disorders are common in children with Dravet syndrome, a genetic epileptic encephalopathy. Researchers call for medicating these young patients.

Ketamine, an anesthetic drug that is also being used for patients with treatment-resistant depression, may hold promise for refractory status epilepticus.

Magnetoencephalography (MEG) is used by about 20% of epilepsy surgery programs, but not without controversy. Researchers came up with case data and showed MEG is a valid approach and useful tool.

Genetic testing is increasingly used in studying epilepsy, but few studies have looked at how patients and their families feel about getting tested from a religious standpoint.

Researchers are looking at how cannabidiol interacts with traditional anti-seizure drugs. It appears to have a synergy with one but an antagonistic effect with others.

Drugs do not usually help patients with autoimmune epilepsy but surgery may. The severity of illness appears to vary depending on which antineuronal antibodies are present.

In cardioverting a patient with atrial fibrillation, physicians accidentally overstimulated an implanted vagal nerve stimulator, harming the patient.

Surgeons are more likely than ever to consider resective procedures in infants and young children who have refractory seizure disorders. Many reports describe good outcomes in infants and young children undergoing resective surgery, but longitudinal data have been published only rarely.

Sudoku puzzles may serve as a "brain workout" but in a case reported in Germany, the exercise proved too strenuous. Solving the puzzles gave a 25-year-old man seizures.

Neurologists seeing patients with seizures who are from developing countries in Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa and other countries with much poverty and poor sanitation should be on the lookout for neurocysticercosis, a condition related to exposure to tapeworms.

A Canadian company announced it would invest $100 million (US dollars) in Jamaican marijuana research and development. A Colorado company also plans to invest there. Though marijuana has long been grown in Jamaica and exported illegally, the island's government decriminalized medical use in February.

Study results show patients who took statins following ischemic stroke were significantly less likely to have post-stroke early-onset seizures.

The year following a child's first diagnosis of epilepsy is likely to cost as much as $20,000 researchers concluded after a retrospective study of billing data for 258 patients. Jamie L. Ryan, PhD, and colleagues findings' were published in Neurology online on July 10, 2015.

In the past surgery for the treatment of epilepsy involved a complicated craniotomy procedure. Now, thanks to laser technology some of the most severe patients can get relief from their symptoms and be on their way home the next day.

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is challenging to diagnose and treat. As yet, there are no drugs currently licensed for BPD treatment. In fact, guidance from England's National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommends that pharmacologic therapy not be used for patients with BPD at all. This is potentially troubling, because those patients typically experience rapid and extreme changes in mood, poor social functioning and have high rates of suicidal behavior.

Patients with idiopathic generalized epilepsies (IGE) can also have focal seizure symptoms. A team of Australian researchers has added some findings that indicate which patients are more likely to have both types of seizures

An antiepileptic drug proved to be efficacious in treating the progression of Alzheimer's disease and dementia, according to Johns Hopkins University researchers.

Women with epilepsy have a 10-fold higher risk of dying in childbirth than women who do not have the disorder, a study in JAMA Neurology found.

Despite assurances from the Obama administration that physicians who provide marijuana to patients for therapeutic use in states where that is legal will not face federal prosecution, the AMA is calling for a law. They want an ironclad guarantee these doctors will have legal immunity.

The FDA extended the use of toparimate, an anti-seizure drug, to children as young as 2.

Seizures and other neurological problems traced to pork tapeworms are a new health threat for the US, the CDC reports.

Patients, especially young patients with some of the rarer forms of epilepsy may benefit from taking cannabidiol for their conditions. While based from marijuana plants the medication does not have many of the traits of other forms of medical marijuana.

Epilepsy is a well known condition both in the medical community and in the general public. Despite that there is still a considerable amount of misinformation that can affect a person's willingness to seek treatment and know what to expect during the process.

Using the new guidelines set forth by the American Academy of Neurology should help doctors and patients understand how best to proceed as more is learned about the affects of first seizures and factors that could contribute to future occurrences.

When a patient suffers their first seizure their initial reaction may be to seek immediate medical and pharmaceutical care to ensure there are no subsequent events. Doctors themselves may look for quick fixes rather than longer lasting remedies.